Who plays Jarl Borg in Vikings?
Jarl Borg is played by Thorbjørn Harr in the original Vikings series.
Explore family, allies and rivals or follow the story sections below.
Cast references: Thorbjørn Harr.
Explore Jarl Borg’s story
The failed embassy
Ragnar visits Borg as Horik’s representative. The land dispute resists compromise, while Borg cultivates an alliance with Rollo against Ragnar.
Retaliation and execution
After being excluded from the English expedition, Borg takes Kattegat. Ragnar retakes it and later captures Borg after a renewed invitation to cooperate. His execution becomes a public assertion of power.
An ally is not a reconciled enemy
Borg’s ships make him useful even after his attack has made him intolerable to Ragnar. That contradiction explains why alliance language is so dangerous in his story. The proposed partnership treats resources as negotiable while leaving personal injury unresolved. Watch how confidence in a practical bargain obscures the question of whether anyone has actually forgiven anything.
Relationships & loyalties
Memorable scenes
Taking an absent rival’s town
Season 2, episode 3
Excluded from the English expedition, Borg attacks Kattegat while Ragnar’s fighting force is abroad. The invasion turns a broken alliance into direct danger for the household left behind.
Why this moment matters
Borg responds to exclusion by striking where Ragnar’s power is weakest: the home left behind by the expedition. The action gives his grievance a concrete and devastating expression, while shifting its burden onto people who did not negotiate the broken arrangement. The scene asks whether an understandable injury can justify the particular target chosen for retaliation.
The execution in Kattegat
Season 2, episode 7
Ragnar carries out Borg’s public punishment after an invitation to renewed cooperation has brought him back. The sequence makes the promise of alliance look radically different from the perspective of the person who trusted it.
Why this moment matters
The invitation promises that resources and mutual advantage can overcome the earlier conflict. Borg’s capture reveals that the language of renewed cooperation has concealed an unresolved decision about punishment. The public execution then makes one man’s trust a warning to everyone watching, displaying authority while also exposing the danger of believing a useful alliance means reconciliation.
Why fans keep talking
Borg attracts sympathy because the broken agreement gives him a grievance viewers can follow. He is not merely an obstacle invented to make Ragnar look brave. At the same time, attacking Kattegat turns a dispute among rulers into violence against a household, and that choice can make his punishment satisfying even to viewers who recognize the betrayal. His effectiveness lies in sustaining both reactions without needing to resolve them into innocence or pure villainy.
What resonates
A recognizable grievance makes him an engaging antagonist. The broken expedition bargain gives viewers a reason to understand his anger.
What divides viewers
Attacking Ragnar’s home goes too far for viewers who can understand the grievance without accepting the retaliation.
Who plays Jarl Borg?
Thorbjørn Harr portrays Jarl Borg.
Thorbjørn Harr’s work beyond Vikings includes Kristoff (Norwegian-language voice) in Frozen (2013); Anton Bjornberg in Younger (2015); Inge Bårdsson in The Last King (2016); Sveinn Are Hanssen in 22 July (2018); Charlie Olsen in Togo.